Don’t feel bad about being confused on this stuff. It is a constantly moving target between the policy changes and court cases.

One thing to add is that the 12k total for loan forgiveness cap applies to the 10-year early forgiveness on SAVE. However, for each additional thousand you borrow, it adds one year. For example, if you borrowed 14k, you could have your loans forgiven after 12 years. This article explains how that all works. The one thing to keep in mind is that there is a lawsuit currently pending that may put a stop to the early forgiveness option on SAVE.

Just to be clear, a $0 payment means you don’t pay anything, and it also means it isn’t advisable to pay extra.

If your monthly payment is an amount other than zero, things change. For example, if your monthly bill is $26.63, it is entirely possible that amount only covers interest and the subisdy is covering the remaining amount.

If you have a $0 payment on SAVE, you don’t need to worry about interest. Your balance should not increase. The only thing to be aware of is the fact that there is a bit of a delay for the subsidy to be credited to your account.

I’m glad you’ve found this site to be a helpful resource over the years!

The tricky part with the SAVE subsidy is that it doesn’t get applied right away. So borrowers get charged the interest, but then they get a credit in the amount of the “excess” interest. For borrowers with $0 payments, that means 100% of the interest.

As long as you are on SAVE, you shouldn’t have to make any interest payments. Before you call, you might want to check out this article about the SAVE subsidy and payment processing.

The SAVE subsidy applies to all federal loans on the SAVE plan, not just the subsidized loans. It exists so that your balance doesn’t go up while you are on the SAVE plan, even if you have $0 per month payments.

Should I pay on the unsubsidized? Half are subs and half are unsubs.

Based on your balance, it sounds like IDR forgiveness will take 20 or 25 years… not 10. The ten year forgiveness options are limited to borrowers with small balances and PSLF borrowers.

If you are on the SAVE plan, the government will cover the unpaid interest. Additionally, I’m of the opinion that it usually doesn’t make sense to pay extra when you receive the subsidy.